After a long battle, Nikki Finke was a veteran entertainment journalist who helped to create Deadline in 2006. She was 68.
Finke, the famously quiet woman who founded Deadline Hollywood Daily, an online version of her long-running newspaper column, created her site. “Deadline Hollywood”For LA Weekly. She gave firsthand accounts of her experiences in the entertainment industry, and she was not shy about shaming its most prominent players. Her often biting, acerbic posts called out wrongdoing and wrongdoers as she saw fit — making her a hero to many assistants and below-the-liners while irking many in the C-suites who were not used to anything less than praise.
However, they were able to answer her calls almost always.
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Finke’s take-no-prisoners style angered many of showbiz’s top players and delighted others. Finke was often able to score huge exclusives. If they were confirmed or published by comms teams, Finke would update the story using her signature. “TOLDJA!”
Among Finke’s most famous — or infamous — assignments was her “live-snarking”Hollywood awards shows, including the Emmys, Oscars and Golden Globes. Many of the live blogs she monitored were subject to warning labels, such as: “Come for the cynicism … stay for the subversion” “Not for the easily offended or ridiculously naive.” Indeed, no exec, star, producer or topic was safe then — or in any other Deadline post.
“At her best, Nikki Finke embodied the spirit of journalism, and was never afraid to tell the hard truths with an incisive style and an enigmatic spark. She was brash and true,” said Jay Penkse, founder, chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, which acquired Finke’s blog in 2009. “It was never easy with Nikki, but she will always remain one of the most memorable people in my life.”
A Long Island, NY native, Finke’s pre-Deadline journalism career included positions around the world with some of the most powerful and influential media outlets: as an Associated Press foreign correspondent in Moscow and London, aNewsweekcorrespondent in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and aLos Angeles Timesstaff writer covering entertainment and features. She was the West Coast Editor and Hollywood columnist for the first time.New York Observerand then forNew York Magazine. She hosted a radio show for the entertainment industry on Southern California public radio.
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She joinedLA Weeklyas its “Deadline Hollywood”Columnist, 2002. She writes about politics, business, and culture in the media and entertainment industries. Finke founded Deadline Hollywood Daily (March 2006) as a quicker way of reporting breaking entertainment news than her weekly paper column. The domain name was purchased for $14.
Dow Jones’ MarketWatch called Finke the Hollywood “must-read,” Los Angeles According to a magazine, she was “essential reading for those who follow the industry, and New York Observer dubbed Finke “Media Mensch of the Year.”
Finke — and, by extension, Deadline — were cemented into Hollywood’s media consciousness for her blanket coverage of and myriad scoops about the 2007-08 writers strike.
After Deadline Hollywood was purchased in 2009 by Penske’s PMC (then known as Mail.com Media Corporation), Finke became its Editor-in-Chief and general manager. The authoritative source for news and industry insider analysis/comment, Deadline would become known as the definitive source. PMC went on to control all three of Hollywood’s major trade publications: Deadline, Variety and THR.
Finke was ranked No. 79 Forbes’ list of The World’s Most Powerful Women.”
HBO was also founded that year. Tilda, a pilot starring Diane Keaton as a Finke-like reclusive Hollywood blogger — which was conceived and written and developed without Finke’s knowledge or involvement. It also stars Elliot Page, Jason Patric and was co-created and directed by Bill Condon. He was also an executive producer alongside Alexa Junge, John Hoffman and Alan Paol. The pilot was a difficult production that saw post-production delays and creative differences. HBO decided not to air it in the early 2011 season.
Finke was sometimes at odds with Penske, the founder of PMC and chairman. She left Deadline in 2013.
In 2015, Finke launched HollywoodDementia.com, a site dedicated to fictional tales about Hollywood (read an excerpt here). She signed a first look production deal with HBO to produce material for the site.
From 2011-21 she was a judge at the Mirror Awards competition that recognizes excellence and innovation in media industry reporting. The honors were bestowed by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communication
Finke, a Wellesley College alumnus, was a long-standing benefactor of the school and has spoken to students throughout the years.
She is survived by a sister, Terry Finke Dreyfus; brother-in-law James Dreyfus; and nieces Sarah Greenhill and Diana Leighton.
Memorial services will take place in private.